My daughter and her fiancé stayed with us Sunday thru Wed. Great having her around. We did Christmas Eve dinner with good friends and their two grown sons and one wife. Good friends, food, drink and a roaring fire made us count our blessings.

After dodging a weather bullet by getting two inches of rain (that would have been two feet of snow) two days before Christmas, Christmas Eve temps plummeted allowing a dusting garnish of snow that made things look and feel Christmassy with none of the inconvenient shoveling, roof raking or snow blowing.

Got an Echo Dot for Christmas that I’ve hooked up to our Bose audio system (I know Bose is the audiophile’s equivalent of a Prius but I’m ok with it :-) Getting a kick out of asking Alexa to play jazz from various sources. Siri is jealous.

Spent last evening out with a couple of old friends from HS. We see each other only two or three times a year, so we usually take advantage when we can. Always hit the same place. Mostly for nostalgic reasons. There are far better establishments for food and libation around. This year, only one of our significant others was able to attend. We took the opportunity to regale her with stories of our misspent youth. Shenanigans and hilarity ensued.

As for Christmas, it was a rather quiet affair this year. My sister and her husband stayed in VT, so it was just my parents, my aunt and uncle from RI and us on Christmas Eve. Christmas Day was only my parents and us. Was kind of nice.

Friday - Yesterday I watched part of a documentary series which looked at rock 'n' roll from the point of view of the producers, such as George Martin, Phil Spector, and a number of others. As a self-taught audio engineer of a LONG time ago, I have to say, I was fascinated at the stories told.

Got a neat "function-at-the-junction" tonight which should be fun, too!

Saturday - That "function-at-the-junction" turned out to be a lot of fun, with good food and good company. Today I finally get to check out a Mexican restaurant down in Massillon which I've been curious about for a while. We'll see if it has what it takes.

Anyone use Dyson products? The new house is completely hardwood, engineered hardwood, and tile laminate flooring. Our central vac is staying put with the old house. So, on a boxing day sale, I bought a Dyson Cyclone V10 cordless vacuum. It looks nothing like a Viper nor a Huracan.

Anyone use one of these, or something similar? Box says the new V10 is 20% more powerful than their V8 model, 20% smaller, and half the weight. I'm interested to find out if it's as good as the box says it is.

I have a full sized Dyson canister. Fairly quiet and does a good job at it. I had a Sears canister unit and the difference is night and day (it can really pick up fine dirt). As good or better than Miele but without the cost of bags.

My brother has these portable Dyson units around his house, and he's happy with them. His top floor is berber carpet and main floor is hardwood. I don't think he has a full sized vacuum, just the handheld Dysons with the floor attachment.

Some time back, we got a Hoover cordless vacuum to supplement the Kirby I've had for something over 20 years. The Hoover is reasonably adaptable and nice for quickie jobs, and it wasn't anywhere near as expensive as a Dyson would be.

I have a full sized Dyson canister. Fairly quiet and does a good job at it. I had a Sears canister unit and the difference is night and day (it can really pick up fine dirt). As good or better than Miele but without the cost of bags.

My brother has these portable Dyson units around his house, and he's happy with them. His top floor is berber carpet and main floor is hardwood. I don't think he has a full sized vacuum, just the handheld Dysons with the floor attachment.

Thanks mto. It wasn't cheap, and I hoped I was buying quality and not hype. Glad to hear that they do indeed work as advertised.

We are leaving behind a Beam central vac, that is now about 12? 14? years old. It's been good, but we've found that, especially on a hard floor, you have to start at the outlet and work your way out. Otherwise, the hose picks up everything off the floor before you can get it with the vacuum. It was great on the carpets. I am definitely looking forward to no more cords, however.

We have a Dyson canister that works great but has a sticky cord and weighs a tonne. If it ever bites the dust I'll replace it with another Dyson, but one like your new one. I'll be interested to hear your report.

Anyone use Dyson products? The new house is completely hardwood, engineered hardwood, and tile laminate flooring. Our central vac is staying put with the old house. So, on a boxing day sale, I bought a Dyson Cyclone V10 cordless vacuum. It looks nothing like a Viper nor a Huracan.

Anyone use one of these, or something similar? Box says the new V10 is 20% more powerful than their V8 model, 20% smaller, and half the weight. I'm interested to find out if it's as good as the box says it is.

We've had a V8 for a couple of years. So far, my wife hasn't complained about it, so, I figure it's doing its job.

We have a Dyson canister that works great but has a sticky cord and weighs a tonne. If it ever bites the dust I'll replace it with another Dyson, but one like your new one. I'll be interested to hear your report.

As T M can likely attest, if you want to know what a truly heavy vac is, try a Kirby. Roughly the weight of a '58 Buick--likely due to its similar construction (down to the same amount of metal and chrome)--it is one back-breaking beast.

I have one of those single "wheel" (ball) Dysons [a Multi Floor 2] and it's the bees' knees...

...plus you can get $100 off on Amazon with coupons like this [though I’m not endorsing this particular person/seller; theirs was just the first one Google fed me when I asked] bringing the price below $300.

Monday - I'll say this: The Browns DID NOT QUIT. Yeah, yeah, lots of mistakes, but they played the Ravens tougher than a lot of teams out there. At this point, I'd say it isn't just Mayfield that is feeling dangerous; the team around him ain't NO ONE you wanna dare take for granted!